It’s always interesting when you sit down with a coach for the first time. Not always sure what you’re going to get. The very first takeaway from Coach Lipsey, he’s excited to be here. Despite having already been coaching for 28 years, when talking about the future of the Bearcat program, Coach Lipsey gave off a youthful exuberance. The excitement of what he has to work with in Ballinger became very apparent.many locals are very familiar with what Coach Lipsey brings to the table.
Many local residents are very familiar with what Coach Lipsey brings to the table, having started his coaching career a short distance down Highway 83 in Winters, TX for 12 years. You will be hard pressed finding anyone with a negative word to say about him. Posting a career coaching record of 122-66 many trips to the playoffs and advancing multiple times he has the experience and pedigree it will take to get the Bearcats where they haven’t been since 2007, the second round of the playoffs.
What to expect from a football standpoint it will ultimately depend on personnel, but in an ideal offense Lipsey would like to run the power spread focused on running the ball and spreading defenses out in the passing game. For him the most important aspect is that you have to be balanced to find success. As far as defense goes Lipsey likes both the 3-4 defense and the 4-3 defense, but wants to get a defensive coordinator hired and let him worry about the specifics.
Coach Lipsey has already met with the Junior High athletes and should be meeting the High School athletes soon. With a very short timeframe until the end of the year he will have to hit the ground running as he still has coaches to hire and a program to begin to implement with only weeks left in the school year.
Coach Lipsey has already been informed of the expanding youth program and is completely on board with keeping the youth in the community active and involved. “I think it is a great idea and whatever is needed from me to help make things happen just let me know”, Lipsey said.
Asked about the community Lipsey said, “It is going to take a group effort to get the program to where it needs to be. From the players, to parents, to coaches we have to all be on the same page.”
In order to be the best we can be in Ballinger everyone needs to be involved. Lipsey said, “We can’t have guys that can contribute in track sitting out because they want to play baseball instead. We have to be one program, not football players, basketball players and baseball players. We have to be Bearcat athletes and let the coaches put them in the positions we need them. If you can contribute we need you to buy in. We’re not going to have you run track if you aren’t fast, but if you can help the school, the program and your teammates, then we need you to be part of what we’re doing. We need to be one program.”
Coach Lipsey was not looking for a new home, but thinks a home found him. Lipsey mentioned his relationship with Superintendent Jeff Butts as one of the reasons he took the job, as they used to coach together and became close while in Winters. The future is looking bright in Ballinger and that future is now.
